April 27, 2018

April 27, 2018

  

OPPORTUNITY TO AFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE GUEST BLOG POST BY JOHN STEVENS

Truth be told, we have an incredible opportunity to affect positive change on the students we serve every day, every year, for the entirety of our teaching career. However, we as a profession have been leaving our biggest ally in supporting students on the sidelines for far too long. There are a lot of factors that we cannot control, but there are some we can. We can create more meaningful tasks, empower our students to have a voice and choice , and we can provide them with a safe space in which to do all of this. So you’ve listened to Alice and Matt Miller and you’ve decided to get rid of worksheets…

NOW WHAT IF NO WORKSHEETS? 

If you’re no longer doing worksheets, like in my son’s case, then what? What are you doing to stimulate his learning? If you’re tossing worksheets to the side, what are you replacing them with? It isn’t easy to just toss out what doesn’t work; something that does work needs to be ready to use in its place. Something better. Something that gets kids thinking and sparks a discussion.

This is a big reason why I started tabletalkmath.com, a free weekly newsletter for parents that shares one quick and easy prompt to try out at home. But hey, if you’re a teacher looking for new ideas, you’re welcome to try them out as well! The newsletters are written in a parent-friendly tone and will often be written by guest contributors, parents who are also learning how to navigate a life of caring for another (or more than one!).

SBAC Celebration on Monday:
Come prepared with your list of names that you will be reading. We will start with 3rd grade. Former grade level teachers go up and read the names of their students from last year together. Read ELA first Proficient/Advanced, then read ELA band jumpers. Students stay up front. Read Math next Proficient/Advanced, then read Math band jumpers. All students stay up front until all names are read for each grade level. Kristin has added names of new students with their scores to our SBAC folder. If you have a new student in your class this year, you will be reading their name and recognizing them. You can find the data you need in the academic conference worksheet. You can also find your SBAC data in Illuminate. You have access to the reports for your students from last year. 

Mrs. Merodio's last day is today. Thank you for going above and beyond to meet your students needs and even meeting with those students who are not part of your daily groups. We appreciate your dedication to our school!

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you staff for making our front office staff feel appreciated for ALL they do!! Melissa thank you for leading our SV Battle of the Books.

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you Sarah and Patty for attending our reclassification celebration on Tuesday. I know that it made it a very long day for you BUT I know it is something they will always remeber!!

Play: Thank you for making it a fun day for our office staff all week long.

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY,

WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH,

THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

April 20, 2018

April 20

I got this from Kris Corey's letter. Great feedback from students.

Speaking of students, the highlight of my week was the Student Voices presentation to the Governing
Board.  Representatives from the Student Advisory Council prepared an informative and thoughtful
presentation. Following are a few bullet points from their presentation:

• If we can’t get new facilities, please ensure that the ones we have are properly maintained.
• Allow for more time or access for students to collaborate with their teachers such as a study hall or through an advisory period.
• Provide more innovative and alternative classes that may engage more students such as a skateboarding class for physical education.
• Expand on the number of career technical education courses that are offered because classes like culinary and robotics make students interested in school.
• Provide more hands-on and engaging lessons.  They like when teachers teach bell to bell and challenge them.
• Bored students tend to goof around and cause problems.
• Listen to students.  They will tell you what they like, what they don’t like, and their interests.
• Provide opportunities to develop the interpersonal success or social/emotional learning.
• Give us solid, reliable teachers.
• Allow for more clubs on campuses and funding for more clubs.
• Don’t just put a chromebook in front of us.
• We like to be challenged with rigorous curriculum.

Overall, the students were extremely complimentary of the education they are receiving in FSUSD.
It is true that they are very insightful, and we need to listen to them.  After all, they are the reason
for our work! Below are some ideas to use with your students.

Still working on building that rapport with students? Not sure how to even start? Check out THIS ARTICLE on 5 Easy Tips for Creating Real Rapport with OUR Students! PLEASE CONTINUE TO HAVE DAILY CLASS MEETING SO WE CAN TAKE CARE OF ISSUES BEFORE THEY HAPPEN DURING UNSTRUCTURED TIMES OF THE DAY :)

 

Click HERE to read about ways to engage students rather than using worksheets.

*Progress Reports: due to me on May 4th. Send progress reports home on May 7th.

SBAC testing begins May 7th.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you for getting students prepared for the SBAC and taking time to practice in class.

Play: Thank you Stefanie, Vicky, Tye, and Kristin for planning a fun Paint night with our parents. Thank you Janice, Kristin, Christina, and Julie for planning a fun SBAC celebration for our students.

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  Thank you for planning field trips for your students and giving them an experience outside of the classroom.

THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY,

WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH,

THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.

April 13, 2018

April 13

How to Coach for Equity (from a blog)

Recently, I suggested that all coaches should be coaches for equity (see this blog post)--
that it is our moral obligation and that if we aren't coaching for equity we are complicit in reproducing
an inequitable system. I want to offer some concrete ways in which we can coach teachers and leaders
within our education system to build more equitable classrooms and schools.

What does it mean to be a coach for equity? I've landed on five broad domains which encompass
coaching for equity: What you see in schools, where you look, who you listen to, your self awareness,
and finally, what you say about what you see and hear. In each of these areas there are specific
actions that a coach for equity takes. This blog will discuss what you see and where you look.

It's What You See

Where does your gaze settle when you walk in to a classroom? Is it on the teacher and whatever
he/she is doing? Is it on the students who are on-task or off-task? What draws your attention?

As a coach for equity, I scan the room for any child who seems left out, cast out, under-served or
under-performing; for those who are socially, emotionally or academically not succeeding; for the
vulnerable who need us to huddle around and help them get through childhood. Those are the children
I look at first. I also see through a lens of power and systemic oppression because my gaze lands
first on the children who may come from communities that have been disenfranchised for centuries,
the children who may have more hurdles to jump across.

Then I pay attention to how the person with authority (usually the teacher) relates to these children.
These highlight the first two indicators of equity in a classroom. I have been in more classrooms than
I can count where when I walk in the door, the first thing I see--right by the door--is a "time out" chair
occupied by a black or brown male. The inequity stares me in the face. The symbolism of being by the
door calls for a re-labeling of so called "drop outs"--I see those who may one day drop out being
pushed out in the first, third, fourth grade. I have seen the same in the front office of many schools--
black and brown boys (and a fair number of black girls) also being pushed out, waiting to be picked
up because of a behavioral infraction. As a coach for equity, I take note of this.

When I go into classrooms, I also notice the following:

• Who is the teacher calling on? And are those students the "successful" ones? Or are they from the
group of disengaged boys in the back of the class? And what is the nature of that interaction between
the teacher and the students? If the teacher does call on one of those boys, is the interaction positive,
neutral or negative?

• If students are doing group work, is every child meaningfully involved? Do they all have input into the
work? Do they each contribute? Are each child's contributions appreciated and valued? How do
students speak to each other? And are any students treated differently because they are perceived
as being different?

• English Learners struggle in many ways when their learning needs aren't met. So I pay attention to
how they are given access to the content and curriculum, how their specific language needs are met,
and perhaps most importantly, whether they speak at all. We know that ELs need to speak a lot to
become proficient in English, but I've been in dozens of classrooms in dozens of schools where many
ELs can go an entire week without a single opportunity to speak. So I notice--who speaks? What do
they say? How does the teacher respond?

This is a great article to read. CLICK HERE MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE "I CAN UNEQUIVOCALLY SAY THAT RIGOROUS INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING IS THE KEY TO IMPLEMENTING EQUITY." This quote speaks to me because as teachers we can make the difference in a child's life and that is why No Excuses University is important to me. Email me your favorite quote from the article and why?

*Progress Reports: due to me on May 4th. Send progress reports home on May 7th.

SBAC testing begins May 7th.

http://www.greenschoolyards.org/

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Jamie and Katie for creating a fun experience for our 4th graders and our school! Annette thank you for hosting our very first Battle of the Books for our 4th graders. Thank you Jennifer and Peter for planning our Academic Olympics. Thank you 6th graders for planning an amazing wax museum.

Play: Thank you Janice and Kristin for helping out and planning a fun way to kick off our SBAC celebration!!!

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  When was the last time you had lunch with a student? Make their day by eating with a student and finding out much more about them :)

April 6, 2018

April 6

So.... Spring is here. Can you tell yet? Please help us reinforce the rules and remember to teach your character trait lesson for the month. Daily class meetings help with daily tattle telling that happens when students come in from recess. Check out this article HERE

504 Reminder:

Section 504 requires recipients to provide to students with disabilities appropriate educational services designed to meet the individual needs of such students to the same extent as the needs of students without disabilities are met. An appropriate education for a student with a disability under the Section 504 regulations could consist of education in regular classrooms, education in regular classes with and supplementary services.

Just a quick review on 504’s.  A 504 is a function of general education. It does not work like an IEP, it does not have a case manager. I am the coordinator where I meet and facilitate a meeting to update the 504 yearly. Once the 504 is given to the teacher it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure it is followed because a 504 is part of general education. Because a 504 is part of general education it has to be attached to your sub plans every time and the medical plan if the 504 refers to it. If you have any other questions regarding 504’s please let me know.

Wondering if your ELD lessons are paying off? We made the most growth in the DISTRICT on our MAP data for ELA!! WOOHOO.
Check out this data HERE

ELA 15 point growth
Math 13 point growth

Walk through data from March:

Electronic Report Cards:  Next year we will be providing electronic report cards through
our parent portals.  We will use the Illuminate portal for elementary report cards and the
Aeries portal for secondary. There will be plenty of details to follow but just wanted you
to know.

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: Thank you Fern and Leigh for attending multiple IEP's that have lasted over an hour. Thank you Carole for being there for her student in a time of need.

Play: Thank you Sarah for planning out our new video for this year.

Choose your attitude: 

To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!

Make Their Day:  When was the last time you had lunch with a student? Make their day by eating with a student and finding out much more about them :)